Chapter 12 Education and religion

1. Chapter 12Education and religion • An Overview of Education and Religion • Sociological Perspectives on Education • Religion in Global Perspective • Sociological Perspectives on Religion • Types of Religious Organization • Trends in Religion in the United States • Education and Religion in the Future

2. Functionalists:Functions of Education Manifest functions: • Socialization • Transmission of culture • Social control • Social placement • Change and innovation

3. Functionalists:Functions of Education Latent functions: • Restricting some activities. • Matchmaking and production of social networks. • Creation of a generation gap.

4. Conflict Perspective • Education is a vehicle for reproducing existing class relationships. • Unequal funding is a source of inequality in education. • Access to colleges and universities is determined not only by academic record but also by the ability to pay.

5. Symbolic Interactionist Perspective • Self‑Fulfilling Prophecy- students perform according to the expectations of their teachers. • Students labeled as gifted may achieve at a higher level because of the label. • Some girls learn to attribute success to effort while boys learn to attribute success to intelligence and ability.

6. Religion • Seeks to answer important questions such as why we exist, why people suffer and die and what happens when we die. • Comprised of beliefs, symbols and rituals. • All known groups over the past 100,000 years have had some form of religion.

7. Four Main Categories of Religion • Simple supernaturalism - the belief that supernatural forces affect people's lives positively or negatively. • Animism - the belief that plants, animals, and elements of the natural world are endowed with spirits that impact events in society.

8. Four Main Categories of Religion • Theism - belief in a God or Gods. • Transcendent idealism - belief in sacred principles of thought and conduct, such as truth, justice, life and tolerance for others.

9. Functionalist Perspective Religion has 3 important functions: • Providing meaning and purpose to life. • Promoting social cohesion and a sense of belonging. • Providing social control and support for the government.

10. Conflict Perspective • According to Karl Marx, religion is the "opiate of the people." • Max Weber argued that religion could be a catalyst to produce social change.

11. Symbolic Interactionist Perspective • Religion serves as a reference group to help people define themselves. • Women’s versions of a certain religion usually differ from men’s versions.

12. Trends in Religion in the U.S. • The rise of a new fundamentalism has occurred at the same time as a number of mainline denominations have been losing membership. • Some members of the political elite in Washington have vowed to bring religion "back" into schools and public life.

13. Goals 2000: Educate America Act • Passed by Congress in 1994 to challenge the nation’s public school system to meet specific goals by 2000. • Very little progress has been made. • The stated goals are overly idealistic.

14. Goals 2000: Educate America Act Three key goals: • Students leave grades 4, 8, and 12 with competency in English, math, science, history, and geography. • U.S. students will lead in science and mathematics achievement. • Every adult will be literate.